Oprah Winfrey has a net worth estimated to be about $2.6 billion, and one venue for her fortune has been real estate investments. In 2019, she added to her collection of homes by buying the Montecito, California ranch owned by her neighbor, Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges. The Dude originally listed the estate for $7.495 million, but the price dropped over time to $6.85 million, the exact same price Bridges and his wife Susan Geston paid for it in 2014. Once the price dropped, Winfrey snapped it up, reports TopTenRealEstateDeals.com.
Bridges, 71, is a member of Hollywood royalty as the son of the late actor Lloyd Bridges and younger brother to actor Beau Bridges, 79. Geston and Bridges married in 1977 and have three daughters, Isabelle, 39, Jessica, 37, and Haley, 35. Bridges has starred in dozens of classic movies and finally won an Oscar in 2010 for his performance as a country musician in Crazy Heart. His most recent nomination came in 2017 for his supporting performance in the acclaimed Western Hell or High Water.
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The Big Lebowski star is also known for his philanthropic efforts and support for environmental causes. He also advocates for medication and learned Transcendental Meditation. In October 2020, he announced he was diagnosed with lymphoma and underwent chemotherapy. He has continued to share updates with fans. In January, he confirmed his tumor “drastically shrunk.” Scroll on for a look at the Montecito ranch Bridges sold to Winfrey in 2019.
Exterior Views
The estate covers 3,517 square feet and includes two bedrooms and three bathrooms. It was built in the Spanish Revival style in 1919 by architect James Osborn Craig. It sits on four acres of gardens that have been. Although the home has been through several restorations and updates, it still has the original windows, doors, hardwood floors, and fireplaces. The kitchen and bathrooms were all upgraded to modern standards.
A look inside
The kitchen also has new cabinets and quartz countertops. It is connected to the large family room. Most rooms in the house have high ceilings, expansive windows, and French doors. The master suite even has an open-beamed ceiling, one of the five fireplaces in the house, and large bay windows. Winfrey and Bridges’ homes were also left undamaged when the 2018 Thomas Fire destroyed other homes in the Montecito area.
Poolside
Bridges and Geston have been downsizing their own real estate holdings in recent years. They sold a 20-acre Tuscan-style vineyard estate for $15.925 million in 2017. They also sold land parcels in Malibu in 2019.
Master bedroom
The ranch Bridges told to Winfrey includes five separate structures on the property, reports Variety. There is the main house, a guesthouse, pool house, carriage house, and a gated equestrian facility with stables and a tack room. The pool and spa area is surrounded by a red brick terrace, shaded by oak trees. The pool house includes a sauna, family room, bathroom, changing facilities, and an office in case Winfrey comes up with a great new idea while swimming. The carriage house includes an attached workshop and garage, while the equestrian barn includes its own well.
Exterior courtyard and fire pit
It’s not clear if Bridges and his family intend to keep a home in Southern California, as he does have a property in Montana. Bridges met Geston in 1975 when he was filming Rancho Deluxe in Paradise Valley, Montana. They married two years later and have been married for over 40 years. “We are quite different as people, and we celebrate that rather than making it drive us apart. I respect her wisdom, and I’m sure the girls do too,” Bridges recently told PEOPLE. “I’ve really been blessed.”
Guesthouse
As for Winfrey, her main home called Promised Land covers 42.6 acres in Montecito and includes a 23,000-square-foot mansion. She bought the home in 2001, reportedly spending $50 million. She recently started buying up property around the estate. In 2015, she bought Seamair Farm for about $29 million. Bridges’ Montecito ranch is located right next to Seamair Farm. Winfrey also has homes in Maui, Hawaii; Telluride, Colorado; and Orcas Island, Washington.
